We have undertaken a program to prepare peptide-related sweeteners. Our research will be devoted to modifications of L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester (the dipeptide sweetener) including cyclic analogs and aminoalkoxy-derivatives. It is our intention to prepare an aminosulfonic acid corresponding to aspartic acid and convert it by typical peptide coupling reactions to sulfonamide analog of the dipeptide sweetener. We will also examine the effect of modifications of the structure on the sweetness of trifluoroacetyl-L-aspertyl-p-cyanoanilide. The objectives of our studies are the syntheses of novel synthetic sweeteners which are stable and metabolically safe. We are encouraged by preliminary reports that peptide sweeteners are noncariogenic. We will examine the effect of the sweet molecules we synthesize on bacteria known to be in formation in dental caries. These studies will be undertaken in collaboration with Dr. Howard Attebery of the Veterans Administration Hospital in San Diego and the University of California, San Diego Medical School.